Higginbotham: United not playing with any freedom under Van Gaal

Danny Higginbotham has stated that Louis van Gaal does not allow his Manchester United players to play with any freedom on the pitch.

While van Gaal has found himself under intense pressure due to United’s poor run of form, many fans have also been left angered by the pragmatic style of play the Dutchman has deployed at Old Trafford.

Former United defender Higginbotham is one of the many people not impressed by van Gaal’s tactics and feels that the 64-year-old is now allowing his players to express themselves on the pitch.

Higginbotham told talkSPORT: “I’m not saying they’re becoming robotic but they’re doing things that are not natural to them.”

“They’re doing exactly what is asked of them off the pitch. When you’ve got great players in these fantastic football teams, you want to see them do some things off the cuff.”

“I’m not seeing that with Manchester United at the moment and that’s the really disappointing thing.”

“The biggest thing is that I’m looking at players out there and thinking to myself ‘they’re being hindered here’.

“They’re not being able to give everything that they want to give because they’re having to play a certain style but it’s to the detriment of themselves.”